All Discussions Tagged 'Human' - Think Atheist2017-08-18T03:21:03Zhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Human&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAgain, It's Been a While...tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2015-11-26:1982180:Topic:15603382015-11-26T16:13:17.033ZBarry Adamsonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/BarryAdamson
<p>Sorry I am not as active on here as I once was. I've been very busy with my new career as a independent writer and editor, writing web content, blog articles, and editing seven nonfiction books for authors. However, I just wanted to check in and say thanks to you all on this US holiday of Thanksgiving. I've come to the understanding that life is much simpler once you remove God from the picture and start taking responsibility for your own life and the circumstances surrounding it. It lacks…</p>
<p>Sorry I am not as active on here as I once was. I've been very busy with my new career as a independent writer and editor, writing web content, blog articles, and editing seven nonfiction books for authors. However, I just wanted to check in and say thanks to you all on this US holiday of Thanksgiving. I've come to the understanding that life is much simpler once you remove God from the picture and start taking responsibility for your own life and the circumstances surrounding it. It lacks in no quality, and in fact brings a sense of peace in life. Of course, you have to sift through the muck of being human first, but once you're out of that rabbit hole, you can breathe easier. I hope you all find the same peace.</p> Coming Out as Humanisttag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-10-19:1982180:Topic:14962772014-10-19T16:16:12.963ZBarry Adamsonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/BarryAdamson
<p>It's been awhile since I have posted anything on here. Many of you have known me as sort of the resident theist during the time that I was very active in discussions, but now I think it's time to say that I can no longer call myself a Christian in any sort of traditional sense. </p>
<p>During my absence on here, I have spent a lot of time thinking and rethinking my position on things. Questioning, answering, and then questioning again over and over where my heart and head stood, and many a…</p>
<p>It's been awhile since I have posted anything on here. Many of you have known me as sort of the resident theist during the time that I was very active in discussions, but now I think it's time to say that I can no longer call myself a Christian in any sort of traditional sense. </p>
<p>During my absence on here, I have spent a lot of time thinking and rethinking my position on things. Questioning, answering, and then questioning again over and over where my heart and head stood, and many a time things that were once a part of me gave way to something new and different - something far more liberating, and far more free than where I had ever been - and the birthing process was not an easy one. There were days, weeks, and months that every new thought and every new action spurred some sort of turmoil within myself, within my family, and within the family I grew up in. But somewhere along the way, I managed to keep things together, and my family (wife and children and the relationships involved) became a whole lot stronger for it. Thus, I think it is time to say that I have shed the husk of religion for something better, for something greater, and that something is simply me. </p>
<p>Religion, I think, is something we use as human beings to cover ourselves up in as a blanket of protection, but this blanket is unnecessary. It is a result of being told from a very young age that there is something wrong with us, when the reality is that there is nothing wrong with us. In fact, the only thing that is wrong is that we become sufferers of the mind - a mind prone to misinterpretation, egotistical hysteria, and misplaced emotions that are held onto for ungodly reasons. We are trained that acceptance comes from understanding, but I think the truth is that understanding comes from acceptance, and acceptance has to start by recognizing we are not always going to understand everything that comes our way in whatever form that this <em>everything</em> takes shape. Things are as they are and there is no reasoning behind it other than to learn in our present moment the how and the why. Or, maybe I am just full of shit right now.</p>
<p>Either way, religion, I believe is an evil in this world. For far too long, I have heard "Christianity isn't a religion, it's a personal relationship," and I have also been a user of this saying. Let me tell you though, anyone who says this is indeed full of shit, because if it was a personal relationship, there would be no need of emphasis within Christianity on "public confessions of faith" or baptisms. You would only need to accept the teachings of Jesus Christ as a way to live your life and strive to live out those teachings without ever having the need for a worship service to give your ego a pat on the back in front of the mindless mass of men and women who blindly follow a God who isn't there: a god defined by a religion and not a relationship. If Jesus Christ is about a relationship and not a religion, there would be no need for a <em>right way</em> or a <em>wrong way</em> to follow him. There would only be <em>your way</em>, and your way would be defined purely in the subjective of which you alone live. Surely, you would have common threads of understanding between you and your neighbor who sees life differently, but the fact is, the life you lead would be your own and unrestrained from the archaic and corrosive control of those in self-asserted authority in all things considered the right way to live. You would simply be you, and it would be far easier to live out this chaotic existence that we, as human beings, insanely try over and over again to impose order.</p>
<p>But like I said, maybe I am just being full of shit right now. The fact remains, however, that I can no longer call myself a Christian. I don't want to, don't need to, and don't have to. My name is simply Barry Adamson: a man of the slightly insane type with tattoos, an opinion, and an occasional short temper. I am a human being, nothing more, and the ashes I came from will one day be ashes again. I will live until my name is forgotten, and then, like all others who came before me, fade away from the existence we call time and space. I will always hold the teachings of Jesus as something to strive for, and I will always use the law of love of my guide - at least, I will try to do so - but as for the mumbo jumbo that generally comes with the religion of Jesus, that, I reject. Call me a heretic, but if I am to live this life, which is indeed mine, I don't need a book to tell me what to do. I will live in the authentic reality of me. After all, there is nothing more than this. The me in this world is all that I will ever be, it is all that we will ever be, and the us that comes from it will only come when we will be willing to cast off our differences as divisions that create the "me versus you" and "us versus them" mindset in order to embrace the fact that our differences are what makes us human and what makes us one tribe instead of many. And there it is.</p>
<p>So yes, if you're going to describe my walk of life as anything, call me a humanist, call me a heretic, call me anything you like, but always remember: I own this life: no book, no god in the sky, and no other man. And, to be honest, if there is a divine power, I think this is what it would want us to discover about ourselves instead of squabbling over the table scraps of a world on fire.</p>
<p></p> world tearing it's self apart in the name of religiontag:www.thinkatheist.com,2013-06-03:1982180:Topic:13226122013-06-03T23:33:25.379Zangela kozmahttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/angelakozma
<p>To me the world seems to have lost it's mind. Last few days have looked at pictures of gitmo bay and almost threw up. The dehumanizing of people was beyond words. History talked of hitler and auschwitz. Decades later what I saw in those photos of gitmo made me think of images of the the very humiliation that the United states once fought against. Turkey is burning because of fighting back the government turned on it's own people like a mad dog. here in america we finally start getting rights…</p>
<p>To me the world seems to have lost it's mind. Last few days have looked at pictures of gitmo bay and almost threw up. The dehumanizing of people was beyond words. History talked of hitler and auschwitz. Decades later what I saw in those photos of gitmo made me think of images of the the very humiliation that the United states once fought against. Turkey is burning because of fighting back the government turned on it's own people like a mad dog. here in america we finally start getting rights for LBGT . Along comes salvation army saying that it should be a death sentence. Killing people over religion seems to be on the rise. in india women are burning for supposed witchcraft and girls killed being victims of rape . The catholic church is says birth control is wrong . Nuns who argue with church are being excommunicated. In last political race it was debated whether women had a right to their on viginas . People are dying world over because of religion and lack of even basic medical and dental care. there is hope for this world right? </p>
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<p><a href="http://www.allegiancemusical.com/blog-entry/young-turks?source=upworthy">http://www.allegiancemusical.com/blog-entry/young-turks?source=upworthy</a></p>
<p><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report_ReportOnTorture.pdf">http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report_ReportOnTorture.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/lgbt-parenting-a-death-sentence-with-salvation-army">http://www.examiner.com/article/lgbt-parenting-a-death-sentence-with-salvation-army</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/29-6">http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/29-6</a></p> Our most noble cause should be to alleviate human suffering.tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-02-01:1982180:Topic:10421682012-02-01T21:27:26.369ZViolet Chartreusehttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/kristinborchert
Religious folks believe they are living their life to it's best possible potential when they are most closely following the tenets of whatever their particular religion or religious leaders require. Today, as I watch my son's physical health deteriorate here in the childrens hospital, surrounded by hundreds of other children in similar horrendously painful medical conditions, I have come to a conclusion: Each person is responsible for their own care, livelihood, and pursuit of happiness, but…
Religious folks believe they are living their life to it's best possible potential when they are most closely following the tenets of whatever their particular religion or religious leaders require. Today, as I watch my son's physical health deteriorate here in the childrens hospital, surrounded by hundreds of other children in similar horrendously painful medical conditions, I have come to a conclusion: Each person is responsible for their own care, livelihood, and pursuit of happiness, but the next most noble objective should be to alleviate human suffering --in whatever form that may be. Health and healing, education, fighting oppression,, etc. It's a superior mindset compared to killing abortion doctors or demonizing gays or ostricizing those who don't agree with us.<br />
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I think it speaks to the real moral difference between theists and atheists (or possibly humanists?). I'm probably not the first person to have this thought, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as well, but I am looking to share this concept with others in a persuasive way. Do you know of any atheist essays or poetry that might encapsulate this idea? How would you get this point across?